


Anemone

by chuwaeyo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, F/F, F/M, Hanahaki Disease, Stubbornness can only carry you so far, time and nature are unstoppable forces
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-13
Updated: 2018-07-13
Packaged: 2019-06-09 15:44:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15270810
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chuwaeyo/pseuds/chuwaeyo
Summary: Hanahaki Disease | Anemone | Forsaken, sickness (negative), anticipation, undying love





	Anemone

**Author's Note:**

> me: ignores all the Thanos deaths like always bc u know damn well I'm about to kill off a character anyways | also I know I literally said I was having trouble with this story??? but then idk what happened lmao  
> cheers!

The first time you realized you were cursed with the hanahaki disease, you were surrounded by your friends and was immediately brought to the hospital. Sure the news said there was a rise in the disease, but they never thought someone so close to them could get it.

They were finally reunited and back home after defeating Thanos.

What sick god watching over them decided to make you sick? Threatening to tear them all apart right after coming together again...

At the diagnosis, you laughed after the doctor told you and your friends; you went from thinking you couldn't fall in love to suddenly being in danger of dying from an unrequited love? As morbid as it was, you couldn't help but laugh.

"I don't know what to say doc, other than this is ridiculous", you looked at the small flower petals on the stand beside your bed, wondering what they were, if they held any meaning, "I don't feel any different than before, other than suddenly coughing up these petals like some broken lawnmower".

"As ridiculous as you think it is, it's not a joke that your life is on the line Miss (Y/L/N)", the doctor sighed, you weren't the first stubborn person to be diagnosed with the disease, but it didn't make it any easier, "if you don't confess your feelings or get the surgery, you only have a few months left to live if you're lucky".

The thought of having only a few months left made you angry, "That's it? Confess feelings I'm not sure I have or get a surgery that makes me unfeeling? How are those my only options?" 

Even though your friends were the Avengers and literal superheroes, they've never felt so powerless, watching you argue with the doctor trying to find some other solution.

"That's all I can offer you, I'm sorry", the doctor refused to look you in the eyes again, another dead man walking from stubbornness, "feel free to leave once you feel like you can walk on your own".

Tony was the first one to speak up, "Bruce and I won't stop until we find a cure, (Y/N), we won't let you die, we'll check with Wakanda to see if they have anything too".

You smiled at Tony, always doing the best for all of you, even if the ways it showed weren't always easily understood, "I know".

"Lady (Y/N), Loki and I, we can try to see if Heimdall knows something, he has to-", Thor tried to smile at you, but he couldn't help but feel sad at the thought of you dying helplessly.

It broke your heart to see them all like this.

"Look at me, all of you", you waited for each of your friends to look up at you, and smiled, "I'm here now aren't I? Let's focus on that, now help me out of this dumb hospital bed, I'm starving".

Even though the doctor only gave you "a few months", you kept on living and laughing with your friends, aside from the occasional coughing fit and petals that followed, it felt like life was as close to normal as it got for all of you. 

Word spread to the other friends you had made in fighting Thanos, and everyone did their best to find an alternate cure to help your stubborn self and took time to come to visit you at the Compound, not sure how much time they had left with you.

You were so stubborn to admit your feelings that you were too stubborn to die.

You laughed when you realized you were still alive after remembering the "few months" the doctor gave you.

Even if it was only temporary, you were thankful for the extra time and seeing all your friends more often than before, glad to be reunited on your own volitions and not at the threat of the destruction of half the universe.

When Stephen Strange came to visit, you were surprised to hear that he knew the flower you were coughing up bits and pieces of, admitting he picked up researching flower meanings and such after he heard you were diagnosed, "you know what you're coughing up is an Anemone? Interesting meaning, being forsaken, standing for sickness, anticipation, and undying love".

"Undying love?" You spit up some of the water you were drinking to look for confirmation on his face and laughed when he nodded, "of course I'd be coughing up a flower that means 'undying love' when I get diagnosed with the disease where I could die from love".

The older man laughed along with you, relishing in the sound even though the situation you were in seemed helpless thanks to your stubborn nature.

You both continued to laugh until Tony walked in and cleared his throat, his voice too tired from another late night trying to find a cure, "good to see the two of you laughing at literally the worst situation we've ever faced".

"Aw, c'mon Tony lighten up, want me to make you a flower crown with all the things I'm coughing up? I'd have to wash them all first, but I think it could still look cute". You grinned and held back the coughing fit you felt coming on, you couldn't make them worry by getting into another fit in front of them, you wouldn't hurt them like that again.

Tony choked on his coffee at the thought, before smiling at you, "as morbidly romantic that would probably be, I have to decline, I would prefer a crown with flowers that didn't come out of your body".

"Everyone's a critic", you shrugged, but were happy he went along with your joke, "Alright you two, have fun together, I'm gonna head to my room to shower and not be stuck in between your endless snark contests".

With a quick wave, you ran back to your room and quickly locked the door, letting the coughing fit run its course as you made your way to your bathroom to start the shower and help drown out your coughing. After a couple of minutes, the fit subsided and you found two flowers in your hand, covered in bloody saliva and crushed them before throwing them in the small trash bin nearby.

You had to have more time.

You weren't going to die like this.

You steadied your breathing and looked at your reflection in the mirror, still you, but missing the mischievous spark in your eye, and the usual grin that rested on your face. As tired as you were, you weren't done fighting for your life, you were going to live another day, you had to.

After your shower, you felt much better and threw on a light jacket so you could go on a walk, ignoring the friendly argument down the hall with Tony and Stephen, pulling your jacket tighter around you, hoping you could slip out of the Compound without anyone noticing.

Luckily, you were able to slip out without anyone realizing and relished in the cool spring breeze on your face, even though you were coughing up petals and flowers every so often, your appreciation for nature had increased the past few months, no matter what happens, nature always seems to prevail in the end, as old battlegrounds were soon growing grass and natural flowers, or making way to monuments or stronger foundations for the city. 

At the end of the day, nature would get the better of you too. No matter how much you fought or prayed, nature would win and your lungs are going to be filled to the brim with flowers, reminding you of the sickness, how you were forsaken from the very beginning from an undying love.

The evening brought you peace, as New York slowly came back to life after a calm few hours between the day and nightlife of the city. Karaoke bars were singing their hearts out, full of guests of all ages, forgetting their problems for a carefree night with their friends, the clubs were slowly letting guests in, small bits of the loud beat of the bass and bright lights escaping with each entry, some restaurants were closing as others were just opening for the night.

Time could never be stopped in the city, and neither could you, you walked and took in the sights before slowly turning around and making your way back to the Compound when you were sure everyone was already asleep.

Your weeks continued to pass like that, some uncertain peace and happy moments with your friends, as the passage of time just kept going, as much as you wished for it to stop until there was a real cure. 

Time could never be stopped, and the inevitable will always be so.

Inevitable.

"Hey (Y/N/N), where you headed today?", Bucky smiled as you walked into the kitchen, glad to see you waking up for another day.

"Probably wandering the city until I meet up with Wanda, why? Need a real hand doing something?" You grinned and pointed at his metal arm before grabbing an apple and taking a bite out of it.

He rolled his eyes and tried to hit the apple out of your hands, "and here I was just trying to be nice".

"I gotta hand it to you, Buck, you're the nicest one so far today", you laughed and took another bite from your apple before waving to him. "See ya later, try not to get too handsy with anything today".

After hearing him groan, you skipped down the hall to the elevator, ready to see what today had in store for you in the city today.

Maybe it was the restful sleep you had the night before, but you were feeling amazing, a skip in your step and feeling lighter than ever, it reminded you of how your body felt before you were diagnosed with the disease.

Could it be that you outlived the stupid disease? Could you be free from the life-threatening cough? Bloody flower free?

As you wandered the city, you had a strange sense of longing for the nightlife and its endless stream of noise and reminders of life, of people trying to live their lives loud and proud. The day always seemed so much more tame to you, but you continued to walk around the city with your head held high, relishing in each painless breath you took for the first time in months.

When it came time to meet up with Wanda, you were glad to see your friend after her undercover mission abroad, you ignored how hard it got to breathe and plastered your usual grin on your face to greet Wanda as you neared the cafe.

"Long time no see, stranger!" You smiled as she got up from her seat and pulled you into a hug.

Wanda let out a breath she was holding and laughed, "I'm so glad to see you, I was worried something happened since I couldn't contact anyone".

You pulled away from the hug and sat down, patting your own arm to show just how strong you were, "I'm as strong and stubborn as a bull Wanda, no need to worry about me".

She rolled her eyes and took a sip from her drink before she continued, "you know, as happy as I am to see you, you're really pushing your luck (Y/N), will you really not get the surgery?"

"How I am I expected to confess or get the stupid surgery if I'm not even sure who I have feelings for, this is the most ridiculous thing to happen" You groaned and took a sip of the coffee she ordered for you, you always hated how your conversations defaulted to the disease and your refusal at the surgery, "what if I end up getting the surgery and I become some emotionless drone to one of my best friends, how am I supposed to live like that?"

"(Y/N), you're not going to live if you don't", Wanda began scolding you for not wanting to get the surgery, it had become normal for each of your friends to scold you and try to get you to undergo the procedure. 

None of them were ready to let go of you because of your stubborn nature, even if that's what kept you with them longer.

"I'm just saying, it's not fair that this exists", you argued, "unrequited love is already sad enough as is, and for some messed up disease to make it all worse? Sounds like some plot in a trashy tv show that is desperate for more views".

Wanda sighed and knew there wasn't a point to arguing with you still, "I suppose you're right, just let us know if something feels wrong okay?"

"Of course, Wanda, I'm not going down without a fight, you know that", you grinned and pushed down the thought that you were having trouble breathing before you met up with her. "So c'mon, tell me about your mission, you've been gone a few weeks right?"

"A few weeks too long" Wanda rolled her eyes thinking about the time she had to spend away from the Compound and you, not sure what day would be your last, "I get that as Avengers, we need to be ready for anything but it's hard to go off on a mission when you know your friend could be having their last breath at any moment".

You felt guilty for making your friends worry so much, but the surgery was out of the question from the very beginning, "it couldn't have been that bad right? Weren't you with Viz and Steve? That must've been fun".

At the mention of his name, she smiled, and something in you felt off, the good feeling you had all day was suddenly replaced with an ache and pain, but you kept smiling as she began to recount the memories of the past few weeks with Vision. "It was the funniest thing, Steve and I were walking around the market to make sure there weren't any Hydra agents, and he gets a message from Vision asking to get paprika", her smile was bigger than usual as she thought back to the day, "When we get back to the safehouse, he's cooking, Vision, the Android who technically doesn't have to consume anything, made Steve and I dinner".

Soon enough she was laughing and you relished in the sound, not realizing the breath that was caught in your throat, suddenly overwhelmed by the coughing fit you were so used to suppressing. Despite your best efforts, the coughing seemed like it was never going to end, and your vision soon blacked out, the familiar feeling of the flowers, the undying love, the anticipation, the sickness, the forsaken have finally caught up to you.

Afterall, time and nature stop at nothing. As much as we pray and fight, at the end of the day, those two forces are stronger than anything human.


End file.
